Jeimer Candelario signs with AL contender as Reds fans say good riddance

Eric Cole

Pittsburgh Pirates v Cincinnati Reds / Kate Woolson/Cincinnati Reds/GettyImages

Cincinnati Reds fans were thrilled when the Reds designated Jeimer Candelario for assignment. Even the front office led by Nick Krall seemed over him by the time of his departure and they were the ones that went out and got him in the first place. Against all odds and despite a brutal showing in Cincinnati, Candelario already finds himself with a new team.

On the surface, nothing about Candelario's 134 games since the start of the 2024 season indicates he should be getting playing time in the big leagues. If you dive deeper, the case is even worse as his Statcast looks like that of a Little Leaguer.

Despite the preponderance of evidence pointing to staying away from Candelario, it looks like the Yankees are signing Candelario to a minor league deal.

Yankees signed Jeimer Candelario to a minor league deal, the RailRiders say.
— Conor Foley (@ConorFoleyYES) July 5, 2025

Yankees are foolishly taking risk on Jeimer Candelario despite Reds' warnings

So what in hell's bathroom are the Yankees thinking here? Well, a couple of things come to mind. First, Candelario does at least have big league experience at both corner infield spots which adds a bit of versatile depth (albeit depth one shouldn't want). Adding Candelario also speaks to the fact of just how hard it is to add help on the position player side this time of year. There are relievers a-plenty and there are a few serviceable starters on the trade market, but bats are extremely scarce.

Unfortunately, Candelario signing in New York does not get Cincinnati out of paying the rest of his contract as Candelario was fully released and this is a free agent signing. While the financial burden from Candelario remains with the Reds, the team can at least find solace in the fact that he is with another organization and is their problem now.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.